Face Down
by Ramadiii
Summary: Who will be the one to save her from the darkness?
1. First name

_Title: Face Down_

_Pairing: Puckleberry (Puck/Rachel)_

_Rating: M_

_Summary: Who will be the one to save her from the darkness?_

_Authors Note: Hi Everyone! This is a story I thought up when listening to **Face Down** and **Your Guardian Angel** by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. This is my first Glee-fanfic, just started watching the show last week and I was so excited about Puckleberry that I just had to write this!_

_Really hope you like it!_

_I live for reviews!_

**First name**

I hated Mondays. Not because it was the end of the weekend, which everybody else mourned. I was actually happy that the weekend was over but it was the bruises that made the Mondays a goddamn pest.

My dance-practices were all scheduled on Mondays and Tuesdays and so whatever bruised ribs or bones I might have I had to keep moving in order to make things appear normal.

I usually hated sneaking around like this but I found myself having no other choice. I was ashamed. Ashamed of myself, at how I just kept taking it.

The people who thought I was a strong person might have been right once, but since I met Jesse that person had fallen.

He's normally a wonderful guy, most would even call him the perfect boyfriend: He's good-looking, he's protective of me, he drives me to and from school everyday, he's a musical genius and he has the best chances possible to get into show-business after graduation.

At least at first glance. But when you look deeper under the surface you find anger, pent up until it's reached its boiling-point, jealousy and no boundaries.

When he gets mad he needs to blow off steam and most of the time he lets me take it. When the first punch came I was clear about not wanting anything more to do with him. But something inside me kept telling me that I needed him and so, as the big fool I was, I had gone back to him and for a few weeks things had been great.

Until he started realizing that I was actually making friends... He had gone mad, trashing everything of mine in our shared apartment, ripped my clothes... And put me in the hospital for a week.

When I finally was able to go back to school I blamed the flue that had been going around lately and by the looks of it people had believed me, I mean why wouldn't they? I wasn't the type of person to lie... At least not the person I was before I met Jesse.

"Rachel? Are you okay?" Mr. Shue and the rest of Glee-Club ran up to where I had fallen down. I had tried standing up too fast which had resulted in my bruised legs buckling under me. I tried to keep the tears from falling when I looked up at the group around me, worry evident on their faces as they slowly helped me stand back up again.

"I'm fine." I smiled and hoped for my acting-skills to fool them. "I just got a little dizzy from standing up too fast."

Relieved sighs were heard throughout the room as I was helped back into my seat and told to take it easy for the rest of the period. I was so thankful that they hadn't wanted to take a look at my legs to see what was wrong but in my relief I failed to notice a pair of doubting, green eyes staring at me from across the room.

It was Tuesday afternoon.

I was alone in the corridor, leaning my sweaty forehead against the cool locker in front of me. I tried to take calm breaths in order not to increase the pain shouting from my right-side ribs down to my already hurt legs.

Jesse had also had a bad Monday and had therefore decided to take it out on me, resulting in, what felt like, a broken rib or two.

My vision was blurry and I was in so much pain I felt like throwing up. The tears fell without me noticing them, and at that moment I wondered what it would be like to just end it. No more pain, no more tears... No more lying.

"Berry?" The dark voice behind me called my name and although he wasn't someone I wanted to see me like this I was a little relieved at the same time. With a little luck he would slushie me and possibly bring my body temperature down in the process.

I turned around slowly, not wanting to injure my ribs more than they already were by making any sudden movements.

"What do you want, Noah?" My voice, which was supposed to sound neutral, ended up a pained wincing instead which immediately caught his attention.

"Rachel?" I heard his voice as if I was underwater, his face turning blurry as I collapsed in his arms.

"_Since when did he call me by my first name?"_


	2. Worry

**Chapter 2 - Worry**

_Authors Note: Hi Everyone! Thank you so much for all the views and reviews, means so much to me that you like it! I really didn't think people would be reading this as fast as you did, it makes me really happy!_

_I hope you like this chapter as well! 3_

_I live for reviews!_

Puck POV

I had been watching her for weeks now, and I know what you're thinking. The answer is: No! I don't like Rachel fucking Berry.

I just one day happened to notice her wincing when we were rehearsing a new dance for Glee-club, holding her side when she thought nobody was watching. I never asked her what was wrong, I mean why should I?

If there was ever a girl who could take care of herself it was Berry, right?

Or so I thought, because for weeks now, almost every day I can see the pained look in her eyes. Even when she tries to cover it up I can see the hurt shining brightly in those chocolate orbs and it hurts me. Why doesn't she talk to anyone? She should let at least one person in on what's going on... But she doesn't. She just fakes a smile and says she's okay, and that's what worries me.

Rachel Berry has never been afraid of letting people know what she thinks and feels, so why is now so different?

I kind of like Mondays. It's the end of the weekend, sure, but going back to school means meeting up with my favorite boys, playing football and, of course, Glee.

I saw her getting out of his red sports-car, the stiffness in her movements and those sad eyes instantly gave her away. This weekend hadn't been a good one, that's for sure. I could only ever guess what was going on but even if it wasn't what I thought, I didn't like her hanging around with that Saint James character.  
There was something off about him, I knew it the very first time I set eyes on him.

"Yo, Berry." I greeted her as she passed me on her way towards the doors of the school but she barely looked me in the eyes to acknowledge my existence, which was odd even for her. I looked to where her boyfriend's car was, he was staring at her back with a pleased smile. Was he the reason why she hadn't greeted me back?  
I didn't like assuming things but even I couldn't help but wonder what sort of relationship those two had.

I kept an eye on her all day, watching every slow movement, hearing every pained wince that passed those plump lips, not once escaping that look of sadness in those chocolate-eyes.  
Something serious was going on with Rach... Berry, I just knew it, and during Glee club that day I got the final evidence I needed.

When mr Shue asked her to sing one of her favorite solos, she didn't rush up like everyone had expected. She slowly stood up and took a cautious step before collapsing onto the floor, her face hidden behind the thick curtain of dark hair.  
"Rachel? Are you okay?" Mr. Shue and the rest of us ran up to where she had fallen down.  
She looked up at us as we surrounded her, worry evident on our faces as Mercedes and Kurt slowly helped her stand back up again.  
"I'm fine." She smiled at us, but it seemed like I was the only one who noticed the falseness in it. "I just got a little dizzy from standing up too fast."

Relieved sighs were heard throughout the room as Finn helped her back into her seat .  
I saw that fake smile plastered on her face and it just pissed me off. What was with the fucking charade?  
I knew I shouldn't but I just couldn't help staring at her from across the room... Why did she lie to m... us?

It was Tuesday afternoon.  
I had watched her walk out of History half an hour early, claiming that she needed to see the school-nurse about a migraine, but from the shaking hand covering her side I could only assume that that had been a lie.

I was worried about her (okay, I admitted it!) seeing her pressing her sweaty forehead against her locker, taking slow, hissing breaths as her eyes were closed in pain.  
I walked up next to her, she didn't even hear me as I leaned casually against a locker not too far from hers so I decided to call out her name.  
"Berry?" I saw the hint of a tired smile flash across her face before she slowly, more slowly than ever before, turned to me.  
Her face was red and her eyes were clouded. I felt a twitch in my chest when I heard the pained wince coming from her lips.  
"What do you want, Noah?" Her legs were shaking and as if in slow-motion I saw her losing her balance, her tiny body falling straight into my arms.

"Rachel?" I called her name as I carefully stroked her long hair in the nurse's office. I wanted her to open her eyes. I wanted her to wake up...


	3. Whispers

**Chapter 3 – Whispers**

_Authors Note: Hi Everyone! Thank you so much for all the views, means so much to me that you like it! I really didn't think people would be reading this as fast as you did, it makes me really happy!_

_I hope you like this chapter as well!_

_I live for reviews!_

She heard the whispers of a sweet voice surrounding her and she shivered at the worry in it. Was it Jesse?

"Berry? Can you hear me?"

"'_Berry?'. No, it couldn't be Jesse… He's never called me by my last name." She thought as she moved her head to the side, trying to hear the deep voice better._

"Come on, Rach. Please just wake up…"  
Rachel slowly opened her eyes, the light blinding her for a second before being able to look around her. She was in an unfamiliar place, for a moment frightened before looking over to her side and into a pair of relieved green eyes.

Puck POV

"Rachel…" I looked into her confused eyes with a small smile. I noticed her hand shiver slightly and placed mine on top of it. "How are you feeling?"  
I was perfectly aware of the fact that I had called her by her nickname and her first name but at that point it didn't matter.

The doctors had told me about her injuries and about the bad state she had been in, so even though it took me everything I had not to run out and demand (a.k.a beat!) the truth out of that Jesse-kid, I was so glad she had woken up.  
"Noah?... Where am I?" She asked me, her voice hoarse and small. So unlike the angel-like voice that usually, and pretty much all the time, escaped those plump lips.  
"You're at the hospital." I saw her eyes widen in shock (or was it fear?) and hurried to finish my sentence. "You fainted at school, so I took you to the nurse's office where they called an ambulance after seeing… the state you were in."

I had been so close to bringing up the huge bruises all over her body, the old as well as the new ones, but seeing her fear of the subject I had to choose my words carefully.  
"I can't be here!" She sat up straight and even though it pained her greatly she threw her bruised legs over the edge of the bed.  
"What are you talking about?" Much to her frustration I, gently, pushed her back into the bed. "Rach, you can barely even talk without hurting yourself. How the hell are you planning to make it out of this hospital?"

She seemed to get the point because she slumped back into the bed, but the panic in her eyes wouldn't go away.  
"You don't understand, Noah…" Damn! Why did the goosebumps have to start spreading just from her calling my name, especially in this type of situation? "If he finds out I went to the hospital, with you especially, he'll…." Her voice died at the end of the sentence and I had an idea as to why.  
"Who? Jesse?" She looked up at me, shocked.  
But seriously, sometimes she wasn't as good of an actress as she considered herself to be.

"Rachel…" I took her hand in mine once again, this time squeezing it gently to get my point across. "I… We can help you. We can make sure he never lays a hand on you ever again, if you would just let us." I could see the tears in her eyes and they made my chest hurt. How could someone ever, very much including me as well, hurt someone so little?… So fragile?

Rachel POV

I just couldn't believe it. Noah Puckerman had helped me, he had carried me to the school nurse and gone with me to the hospital… The hospital. The worse place in the world.  
I hate hospitals. They stink of disinfectants and death… The last one is probably just my imagination but I don't care.

Being in the hospital means I failed to hide what's been going on, and by the looks of it Noah knows. I don't know how much but he knows too much to be safe, that's for sure.  
And worst of all: Jesse will find out! I don't know how but he always seems to know whenever I'm hiding something from him.  
He will lash out again and… this time he won't stop. This time it will be bad.

I really don't know why I haven't told anyone, why do I protect him? All I have to do is tell someone and he will never be able to touch me again, so why won't I step up?  
Seeing Noah like this, sitting by my side at the hospital, makes me wonder. If it's bad enough for him to notice then why won't I just end it?

_Flashback_

_I felt the pain throbbing in my body as I tried to crawl away from him. He walked closer with that grim look on his face and I flinched as I felt the salty tears hit my split lip.  
He stood in front of me, my back was against the wall and I had nowhere to go.  
He crouched down and looked straight into my frightened eyes before crushing his lips into my cracked ones.  
My eyes widened in shock but I was too frightened to do anything else but to allow him access.  
"You're mine, Rachel." He whispered greedily and it brought even more tears to my eyes. "Only I could ever want you when you look like this." His hands moved over my body and I had to bite my hurt lip to not cry aloud when he started removing my clothes. "No one would believe you, Rachel. No one."_


	4. Sorry

**Chapter 4 - Sorry**

_Authors Note: Hi Everyone! Thank you so much for all the views and reviews, means so much to me that you like it! I really didn't think people would be reading this as fast as you did, it makes me really happy!_

_I hope you like this chapter as well! 3_

_PS: I live for reviews ;)_

* * *

Rachel POV

The darkness surrounded me, welcoming me into a world without the pain from my bruised body. I felt light and happy... The way I had felt before I met Jesse.  
I wanted so badly to blame him, to hate him for what he did... But I couldn't. I couldn't help but think that I was the cause of his anger, that I was the one at fault...  
That I was the one to blame.

A tinging feeling made the goosebumps spread comfortably over my skin and I smiled, it felt warm and lovely. Like it set something on fire inside of me and I could feel a tear come down my face.  
I heard the whispers of a soft voice calling my name and it was with a small smile that I opened my eyes to look into Noah's green ones.  
"Rach, wake up." He whispered, his thumb brushing gently against the palm of my hand as if he wanted to chase away the darkness of my dreams.

I had been in the hospital for two days now. Noah hadn't left me in that time because of two reasons evident to me. One: I didn't feel safe without him there. and Two: He was concerned about Jesse finding out and didn't really trust hospital-security to keep me safe.

"How was your sleep?" He asked with a gentle smile that oddly enough suited him.  
"Uneventful." I smiled back at him, my answer causing him to chuckle. "How was yours?"  
"Pretty much the same, although I can safely assume that my neck hurts more than yours."  
I could only laugh at him. He hadn't even left my bedside to sleep on the couch, so his neck was probably suffering from it by now. Maybe I should make it up to him when I get better... By giving him a massage, I mean.  
"There are some people here who wants to see you." Noah patted my hand and was about to get up to go to the door but the moment he left his seat next to me my entire body just hurt and so I grabbed onto his wrist to make him stay.

Puck POV

The hand around my wrist kinda hurt, her slender fingers were digging in deep enough to possibly give me some minor bruises but when I saw the scared look in her eyes I didn't say anything. I just nodded at her silent begging me to stay by her side and sat back down again.  
"You can come in guys." I called. The door instantly opened and revealed all of Glee Club's members, including mr. Shue and Emma.  
I saw Rachel jerk a little when she saw them, and for a second I felt guilty about setting this up.  
"Hi guys." She smiled a nervous smile at them and since she hadn't stayed quiet, I assumed she was still kinda glad to see them all.

Strangely enough Quinn was the first to break the silence.  
"Rachel..." She took a deep breath and Rachel looked at her as if she wasn't sure what to expect the cheerleader to say. "I think I speak for everyone when I say that no matter what we have all gone through in the past, we are so sorry about you having to go through something like this without us noticing."  
I saw Rachel's eyes turn glossy as Quinn continued her little speech, now accompanied by the group's nods and comforting smiles.  
"You and I have never been good friends or anything but if there is anything I can do to help you, just let me know."  
"That goes for the rest of us as well." Santana spoke up and I had to fight to keep the shocked look off of my face. Did Santana really just say something nice to Rach? That must have been the first...

"How are you feeling?" Kurt sat down next to Rachel's bed and gently took her hand in his. The concern was shining in his eyes and when I saw the tears falling down Rachel's cheeks I wiped them away. She shot me a grateful smile before looking back at Kurt and the others.  
"I've been better but I've been worse as well so in the end I guess I feel okay."  
Now, that was the Rachel Berry I knew. Not thinking before speaking, and I noticed how the Club tensed up in anger, sadness and despair. I knew about the question that was hurting them: How could this have been going on without any of them even noticing?  
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you all upset..." Rachel started but Brittany interrupted her with a comforting smile on her face.  
"You have nothing to be sorry about, Rach."  
"Yeah, I mean, if anything we're the ones who should be apologizing to you." Artie exclaimed, looking so guilty even Puck felt sorry for the kid.  
Rachel chuckled a little but had to stop when her ribs started to hurt again, a wince escaping her lips as she leaned back on the bed and if she hadn't placed her head back onto the pillows to focus on her breathing, she would have seen the pained looks on everyone's faces, including mine... Especially mine.

"Look, if I understand the situation correctly, and I'd like to think that I am, you are sorry and I'm sorry..." She spoke slowly, a hand at her injured side. "So how about we all stop feeling sorry, because the way I see it, it won't do us any good to go around feeling sorry about something that's already been done."  
I smiled at her as I gently ran a hand through her hair, she glanced at me softly with a slight blush on her face, which didn't go unnoticed by the others even though they didn't say anything about it at that moment.


	5. A different kind of hurt

**Chapter 5 – A different kind of hurt**

_Authors Note: Hi again everyone! Karin here again with a new chapter about our favorite Glee-couple. I know I've kept you waiting but it just builds up the excitement for the next chapter, right? (Bad excuse, I know! XD)_

_On a side-note I just wanted to take the time to thank all of you for reviewing and showing your love! Hope you like this chapter as well!_

_PS: The inspiration for the first part of this chapter was the song "According to you" by Orianthi!  
_

**I own nothing but the story-line, although I kinda wish I owned more!**

* * *

It had been a week since Rachel had come home from the hospital and there had been no sign of Jesse, which pleased Puck but also made him a bit suspicious. If he was violent enough to be able to send Rach to the hospital and controlling enough to make her hide the numerous cuts and bruises from the other beatings, then why hadn't he shown?  
The first couple of days back Rach had been jumpy, flinching away from everything and everyone except Puck, which actually made him feel kind of proud... Even though he knew that it was nothing to take pride in.

Rachel's POV

The first days back were hell, and that's an understatement! I jumped at even the smallest sound and movement in the corner of my eye but thankfully, Noah hadn't left my side since he brought me to the hospital. Despite our past history I felt safe with him, like Jesse didn't even exist when he was around.  
He had gone home with me once I was cleared to leave the hospital, helped me explain the whole Jesse-situation to my dad's and even though I hadn't even asked my dads to, he ended up staying at our house. I guess kind of figured it was for the best when every time they had come to visit me, Noah was by my side.  
The day after I had gotten home, me, my dads and Noah went to the police-station to file a report about domestic violence, as well as to get a restraining-order against the Vocal Adrenaline-member. I couldn't help but feel that I was betraying Jesse by doing all of this but with Noah by my side, making me realize that he was the one with the problem, the veil over my eyes was slowly lifted and while I was still feeling guilty, I felt a bit proud of myself.

The more time I spent with Noah, the closer we got. During the coarse of the following couple of months he went from sleeping on the couch, to a mattress on my floor, to sleeping next to me in my big bed.  
Despite the horrible things Jesse had done to me in the past, having Noah beside me at night helped me sleep. His gentle arm around my waist chased away the nightmares and his warm breath on my neck as he snuggled closer made me kind of grateful that I was still alive.

There were so many times when I had wished for death, when I hadn't been able to see the good things in life, just the ugly, horrid nightmare that was Jesse but with Noah it was different.  
He was so gentle towards me, even when I did something stupid and he didn't yell at me if I didn't answer his text-messages within ten seconds.  
Slowly I found my way back to the old Rachel, the one who wasn't afraid of everything that came at her. The one who could talk back if she needed to, the one who would fight to be the best. The old Rachel... if with a little more humility than before, which seemed to be greatly appreciated by my friends.

* * *

"Noah." I jogged up to him in the hallway, my books still in my arms as I had rushed out of the classroom as soon as the bell rang when I saw him.  
"Hey, Rach." He placed his arm around my shoulders, a move that made me smile and draw in his comforting smell. "What's up?"  
I was quiet for a second or two, not quite sure how he was going to react but I figured that it couldn't be worse than anything I had already been through.  
"Rachel." He stopped, hands on my shoulders, looking into my eyes with his worried ones. "What is it?"  
Well, here goes nothing!  
"Can you teach me how to fight?" The look on his face changed from a worried one, to a 'did-I-just-hear-you-correctly look' to a 'are-you-serious look'.  
"What the hell are you talking about?" He was mad, I could tell from his strained voice but this was something I needed.  
"I want to know how to fight, and since you're pretty good at it I thought..." I started but a raised hand from Noah interrupted me.  
"Why would you need that?" The look in Noah's eyes took my breath away, and not in a good way. He looked... sad and I hated it!  
"You're not always going to be there, and I need to know how to defend myself when something does happen." Suddenly the sadness was gone, replaced with something even worse. Nothing. No emotions, just a pair of empty green eyes staring back at me.

Puck's POV

"Can you teach me how to fight?"  
What the hell? Why would she need to learn that, when I was around?  
"What the hell are you talking about?" I tried to keep my voice as controlled as I could even though I was hurt. Didn't she trust me to take care of her anymore?  
"I want to know how to fight, and since you're pretty good at it I thought..." She started but I couldn't listen to this. My heart hurt more with every word that came out of that pretty mouth, and it just killed me that she didn't feel safe around me.  
"Why would you need that?" This time I didn't even try to keep my sadness and hurt to myself. I wanted to know!  
"You're not always going to be there, and I need to know how to defend myself when something does happen."  
I felt my heart break. She didn't want me anymore.

"_What the hell had you expected?"_ My head was screaming at me. _"That you saved her and she would dedicate her entire life to loving you? Wake up, Puckerman! She doesn't want you around her anymore, you're just another horrible reminder of her dark past. Why would she want to look into your eyes, when all she sees is herself beaten to a bloody pulp?"  
_

Rachel's POV

I tried to figure out what was going on inside that head of his but there were no emotions left to read. He just turned around and walked away, not a word. Just walked away from me, as if he had forgotten I was still there.  
"Noah?" I called, but he didn't stop."Noah!" I tried again but he turned the corner without even so much as looking back at me.  
I felt something warm slide down my face, for the first time in months I was crying again. But this time the hurt was more painful than any beating Jesse had ever given me.

Jesse may have broken my body and will but only Noah had the power to break my heart.


	6. Was it all for nothing?

**Chapter 6 – Was it all for nothing?**

_Authors Note: Hi guys! Once again I would like to seriously thank everyone who read this fic and liked it! It means so much to me that you read my things and I want to dedicate this chapter to all you wonderful people who reviewed, alerted and made me your favorite author/story, you know who you are ;)_

_Thanks again and enjoy chapter 6 of Face Down!_

**I own nothing but the story-line, although I kinda wish I owned more!  


* * *

**

I had never felt this numb before, as if I was walking around in a bubble again. Back to the way I was before Noah. Before he showed me how I could be the person I had been before, before he had conquered my heart...  
I hardly ate, I couldn't sleep... Heck, I couldn't even sing, and just being aware of that painful fact made the tears fall from my eyes again. I had tried calling him, I had been on look-out at school and I had gone by his house, all in order to say I was sorry about what I had said.  
I'd had no idea he was going to react like that over me wanting to learn how to defend myself but obviously I had been mistaken and I wanted to make up for it but I hadn't even seen him for a week and the stress of it was starting to tear me up.

Everywhere I went I thought I saw Jesse and just knowing that Noah wasn't there to keep me safe or comfort me, scared me more than I'd like to admit.  
I needed to see him, talk to him, right now I would even settle for just knowing that he was alive and so I called the one person I knew must have seen him.  
"Rachel? What's up?" I took a deep breath, collecting the thoughts spinning around in my head before answering.  
"Hey, Santana." I just couldn't believe I was calling her but this was an emergency... Kind of. "Um, listen... I just wanted to ask you..." What the hell was I so nervous about? It was a yes or no question, no need to piss myself over it.  
"Yeah?" Her voice wasn't annoyed like I had thought it would be, she was patient and it made me forget about my nervousness for a second.  
"Have you seen Noah?"  
"Hm..." She thought for a second. "No, sorry. Not since last week. Why? Still haven't heard from him?" I found myself sighing at her answer, how could she not have seen him?  
"No... Well, sorry for calling this late. And thanks."  
"No problem, Rach. Sorry I couldn't help."  
"Bye."

* * *

Puck's POV

I watched her as she answered her phone, the way her black hair fell over her tanned shoulders and I let my eyes travel over her fit body. I still couldn't get over how I hadn't had sex since I found out about Rac... Berry...  
"Rachel? What's up?" I felt my blood freeze, why the hell would she be calling Santana? Was something wrong?  
"Yeah?" Holy Shit! I had to look out the window to see if there were any pigs out flying, had the Latina actually sounded like she cared? And on top of that I found my chest tightening at the thought that there really was something wrong.  
"Hm..." She looked back at me with a glare, and she seriously looked like she wanted to smack me. "No, sorry. Not since last week. Why? Still haven't heard from him?" Had she asked about me? As thankful as I was for her not telling Rachel that I was there I still wondered why she hadn't turned me in.  
"No problem, Rach. Sorry I couldn't help." She kept glaring at me and I couldn't help but feel a little guilty. But hey, I didn't start this. Sure, I was the one acting immature by staying away from her (my sister called it hiding, annoying little brat!) but she was the one who didn't want me around her and now she was looking for me? That shit just didn't make sense!  
"What?" I asked, suddenly feeling annoyed. "Why are you mad at me for?"  
"How could you not call her?" I felt my mouth drop open. Who was this woman and what had she done to my bitchy cheerleader fuck-buddy?  
"What?" I asked again, feeling like a complete fool for repeating myself.  
"I don't know what happened but you need to get your head out of your ass and go apologize to her." Santana got up from the bed and sat down at her desk, staring sternly at me through the mirror as she fixed her make-up.  
"I should go apologize? You have no idea what she said to me." I exclaimed getting up from the bed as well and started pacing, something I tended to do when I was stressed about something.  
"Then please, do explain it to me, Puckerman. Because Rachel sounded like she was about to burst into tears at any moment." Again she used that patient voice and it aggravated me, she wasn't supposed to take sides on this, and even if she did she was supposed to take mine!  
"She basically said that she didn't want me around her anymore."  
Santana looked at me in silence as I continued pacing her bedroom floor, trying to figure out if I was telling the truth or not.  
"What do you mean 'basically'? Were those her exact words or not?"  
"What does it matter? The meaning is the same..." I started but the Latina held up a hand in the air, stopping me from continuing.  
"It matter a whole hell of a lot! You and I both know that Rachel has a way of refining everything she says, making it very easy to misinterpret the many things that fly out of her mouth."  
I stopped my furious pacing, staring at her for a second before throwing myself onto the bed again, my brain too tired to hold it in anymore.  
"She said 'You're not always going to be there, and I need to know how to defend myself when something does happen.', meaning that she doesn't want me around her anymore." I sighed and blinked the stinging tears out of my eyes. There! I had finally said it, and it was killing me. Santana was going to agree with me and then it was going to be real...  
"Are you a complete idiot, Puckerman?" The Latina exclaimed and threw my Letterman-jacket at me, causing me to sit up straight in the soft bed.  
"What?" The third time in ten minutes that word had come out of my mouth and if I hadn't been as confused as I was I would have been pissed at myself.  
"There is no way in hell Rachel would want to let go of you after all the shit you've been through together, how could you even think that?"  
"W...Huh?" I was not going to continue abusing the word 'what' so I quickly chose another.  
"I'm no genius but I'm a girl, and I know that if I were to say those embarrassing words to anyone it would be to the person I loved."  
"But then... Why would she say that I wasn't going to be around?" I felt like a six year old again, but I didn't care. I wanted to know what it meant and since Santana seemed to have turned over a new leaf I saw no harm in asking her.  
"Hello, earth to Puck! There is no way in hell, even if you two were officially together, that you would be able to be with each other 24 hours a day, every day, for all eternity. She wants to be able to feel safe even when you're not with her, and she needs you to feel like you don't always have to protect her."

I thought about her words for a few moments. Could that really be it? She didn't want to get rid of me? I felt my cold heart warm up and flutter a little at the thought. Talk about jumping to conclusions.  
"So, she's not leaving me?" I asked, even though there was no way for the Latina to know.  
"Obviously not, why else would she call me asking for you?" She rolled her eyes with a sigh but smiled a little as I quickly got off the bed, slipped into my Letterman-jacket, walked up to her and pressed a kiss against her cheek before hurrying out of the house, dead-set on finding Rach and apologize for acting like a fool.  
It was with a smile that I jumped in my truck, and rode off to her house. Everything was going to be okay, I was going to get her back and we would live happily over after... Or whatever the storybooks always said in the end.  
Piece of cake!

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_PS. If you like this, be sure to share your thoughts with me! My love for reviews still remains! Thank you for reading!_


	7. Happily ever after

**Chapter 7 – Happily ever after...**

**Authors Note: Okay, guys! Sorry to have to tell you this but it's going to be the last chapter to Face Down! I truly hope that you have enjoyed reading this fic and if you haven't before, please let me know what you thought of it ;) The story or the chapter, I'll be just as happy about either one!**

**So come on! It's the last chapter, surely you can take the time for it ;)**

**Thanks to all you wonderful people who've kept me going and enjoy chapter 7, the last chapter of Face Down!**

**I own nothing but the story-line, although I kinda wish I owned more!**

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**Chapter Seven - Happily ever after...**

"Why are you doing this?" Rachel crawled over the floor, her back soon enough meeting with the wall behind her. Her jaw was hurting from the first blow and her sprained wrist was thumping angrily in protest as she used it to try and press herself as close to the wall as possible.  
Jesse slowly walked over to her, enjoying the sight of his girlfriend cowering against the wall as he got closer.  
"We haven't seen each other is so long, Rachel. There is so much for us to talk about, don't you think?" He grabbed the vase on the table next to him and smashed it against the wall, making Rachel flinch, terrified since she knew what he was going to do to her.  
"Let's start with..." He picked her up by her hair and pulled her to her knees. "Puckerman."

He smirked at the panic in her tear-filled eyes as he spoke the name of her "rescuer" and with the back of his hand he delivered another blow to her already hurt cheek.  
"Start talking." He demanded but Rachel stayed quiet. She knew he didn't want to hear excuses. He wanted to hear her beg for her life and for forgiveness. But if there was one thing Rachel had learned from this whole nightmare was that she was not going to fold again. She was not going to surrender to this man... Even if it killed her.

"Speak!" Jesse yelled and threw her head-first into the wall, causing the skin on her forehead to break and blood to flow down her pale face.  
Again she stayed quiet and brought herself into a sitting position, supporting her back against the wall as she kept staring into his eyes, silently laughing at herself for ever falling for this lunatic.  
This time he didn't even say anything to her. He just let his foot connect with her side and was granted with a series of coughing from the girl in front of him but once she was done she returned to staring at him, something that seriously freaked him out.  
She was supposed to be frightened out of her goddamn mind and cower away from him, begging for forgiveness for something she knew she hadn't done. But not this time.

She just sat there and took it, didn't say a word as he kept hurting her. Didn't take her dark eyes from his and Jesse felt cold chills run up his spine as he stared back into those bottomless dark orbs.  
"You're really not sorry?" He stuttered, the sweat making its way down his face as he back away from the lifeless doll in front of him known as Rachel Berry.  
He had started shaking now and even though Rachel acted like the doll that she knew was Jesse's one weakness, she smiled inside as she could see the madness boiling up inside of him, eating him from the inside and out.

She had known for years that Jesse's one true fear was dolls. Just looking at one for too long made him start shaking and sweating until he eventually had a panic-attack. That's why she didn't say a word, took the beating and kept staring at him with those big brown, lifeless eyes of hers.  
She wanted him to feel the same fear she had felt all this time. She wanted to drive him to the edge like he had done to her so many times.  
She wanted him to pay.

She saw how he stumbled backwards, the panic now in his body as he kept backing into things without even noticing and trying to brace himself against things that weren't even there.  
She saw how he reached behind his back and felt her heart stop when she saw the piece of heavy, dark metal in his hand.  
"I'll see you in hell, Rachel." 

Puck's POV

I jumped out of my truck, the big grin still on my face as I saw the Berry residence in front of me, as peaceful as it always had been.  
I was about to walk up to the house when I noticed something that made my blood freeze to ice in my veins. Jesse's red sports-car parked in the drive-way!  
He was here! I started running up to the house but as I reached the door I heard a loud sound, like a firework from inside. I may never have heard one myself but I had been told by people I knew that gunshots sound a lot like fireworks so without thinking about anything but Rachel possibly being shot I rushed through the door and stormed into the livingroom where I was met with the bloodiest sight I had ever seen.  
There she was. Sitting against the wall, blood covering her face and clothes and her lifeless eyes staring straight back at me.  
I slowly walked up to her, my feet leaving tracks in the blood on the floor. I crouched down next to her and reached out a pair of shaking hands to cup her cold, pale face. I felt the tears run down my face as I leaned my forehead against her bloody one.  
"I'm sorry, Rachel." I whispered and stroked a shaking hand through her hair. "I'm so sorry." 

It took more than three months for Rachel to come to terms with what had happened that day that Jesse had broken into her home, abused her and finally blew his brains out in front of her.  
Even though she was supposed to be fine Noah sometimes caught her awake in the middle of the night, the nightmares still haunting her.  
At times like that he would kiss her face, caress her long hair and let her know how much she meant to him. At times like that it was all she needed to fall back to sleep again, a warm touch to bring her out of that cold and unforgiving world.  
A touch that was his. His and no one else's. 

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**There we are! You didn't actually think that I was going to let Rachel die, now did you? xD**  
**Thank you all so much for supporting me and this story! Makes me so happy!**  
**Be sure to let me know what you thought of it ;)**


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